The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

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Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Iran threatens to shoot down US spy planes - Rick Moran

by Rick Moran

The latest incident between the US military and Iran is just the latest in a series of confrontations in region.

Iran
threatened to shoot down two US spy planes flying in international
waters in the Straits of Hormuz. The planes were on a surveillance
mission and were flying 13 miles off the coast of Iran when the threat
was made.

At some point during the flight, the Iranian military warned the two aircraft to change course or risk getting shot down. The
US military planes ignored the warning and continued flying in
international airspace, although close to Iranian territory, the
officials told Fox. “We wanted to test the Iranian reaction,” one US official told Fox News when asked why the US jets were flying close to Iran.“It’s
one thing to tell someone to get off your lawn, but we weren’t on their
lawn,” the official continued. “Anytime you threaten to shoot someone
down, it’s not considered professional.”The
official said the Iranian behavior was characterized as
“unprofessional.” Another official said the incident was not considered
“unsafe” because there were no Iranian missile launchers in the area,
according to the latest intelligence reports.The latest incident between the US military and Iran is just the latest in a series of confrontations in region.Last
month, Iranian fast-boats harassed US Navy warships in the Persian Gulf
on at least five occasions. One incident resulting in three warning
shots being fired from a US Navy coastal patrol craft, when an Iranian
vessel ignored repeated radio calls to change course. On another
occasion, an Iranian boat stopped 100 yards in front of a US Navy ship
forcing it to take evasive maneuvers.Over
the weekend, a senior Iranian military commander dismissed claims that
his vessels had harassed US Navy ships in in the Persian Gulf saying his
nation acted in accordance with internationally recognized maritime
law."Iranian
boats continue to act based on defined standards and are well aware of
the international laws and regulations, so the claims are not only
untrue, but stem from their fear of the power of Iran's soldiers," said
Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri, deputy chief of staff of Iran's armed
forces, according to state news agency IRNA and reported by AFP.Dangerous
interactions at sea between Iran and the US Navy have doubled in the
first half of 2016 compared to the same time last year, Fox News first reported last month.On Aug. 30, the head of US forces in the Middle East was asked to explain Iran’s perceived aggressiveness.“This
is principally the regime leadership trying to exert their influence
and authority in the region. And they are trying to do it in
provocative ways,” said Gen. Joe Votel, commander of US Central Command
at a Pentagon press briefing.

In
other words, Iran is flexing its muscles by trying to humiliate the
United States, making us look weak. So far, they are doing a damn fine
job of it.

This
is not what was expected after the nuclear deal was agreed to. Perhaps
the administration didn't believe all would be clover and unicorns with
Iran, but at the very least we were told that Iran would now cooperate
in the fight against Islamic State and take other steps with the US to
ease tensions in the region.

Instead,
the exact opposite has happened. Iran is taking on Islamic State
entirely on its terms without any US assistance. And instead of lowering
tensions in the region, the Iranians have sought at almost every turn
to fan the flames of the Shia-Sunni conflict, threatening war with Saudi
Arabia, all but taking over Iraq, and meddling in the civil war in
Yemen.It's
a foreign policy disaster of epic proportions regardless of Iran making
any progress to build a nuclear weapon. Our billions in cash payments
to Iran has enabled the terrorist regime to fund not only Hezb'allah,
who is killing US backed Syrian rebels, but also the Houthis in Yemen
who continue to fight against the elected government. One would assume
Iran is also funding prominent terror groups in the region as well.

Former
vice president Cheney wrote a few days ago that "No American president
has done more to weaken the U.S., hobble our defenses or aid our
adversaries." President Obama will leave office considering his
performance in that regard a job well done.

Rick MoranSource: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/09/iran_threatens_to_shoot_down_us_spy_planes.html Follow Middle East and Terrorism on TwitterCopyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.